I'll Always Remember
by ChoCedric
Summary: Remus has tried to block out the past for twelve years, but when Albus Dumbledore calls on him, an influx of memories returns to him like a tsunami. How could he ever forget the friends that had given him, a werewolf, the best times of his life?


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

I'll Always Remember

By: ChoCedric

Summer 1993

Whoosh!

Remus John Lupin was sitting in his living room reading a book, when suddenly his fireplace turned emerald green. Who could be visiting me? the man thought to himself, curious.

Remus didn't have any friends; friendship was not something his mind liked to think about these days. To tell you the truth, he was a very reclusive man, and if you looked into his eyes, you could tell that he was haunted by experiences many would never have in their entire lifetime. The fact that he had no friends was why he was wondering who on Earth could be visiting him. He was currently out of a job, so no one would be coming to employ him.

He looked up from his book, and then he felt a pang of profound shock go through him. Albus Dumbledore, someone Remus had not seen or talked to in over a decade, was sitting in his fireplace. Or rather, his head was.

"Hello, Remus," Dumbledore said kindly, surveying the sitting room the man was sitting in. "How are you?"

"P-Professor?" Remus stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"I wondered if I could talk to you for a moment," Dumbledore answered. "And how many times do I have to tell you? Please call me Albus."

"Okay, Albus. Yes, we can talk if you like," said Remus uncomfortably. He didn't feel right, addressing the man as "Albus," when he thought he owed the old Headmaster everything. And why was he here to talk to him? He didn't want to remember old memories or reminisce about old times. He thought he'd got past that stage of his life.

"Thank you," said Dumbledore, and before Remus knew it, the Headmaster of Hogwarts was standing in his living room. "It's a nice place you have here, Remus," he said, smiling.

"Thank you, but it's nothing," said Remus self-deprecatingly. "May I get you a cup of tea?"

"Ah, that would be very pleasant, thank you," replied Dumbledore, still smiling.

"Very well," said Remus, conjuring a tray, tea, and two teacups. After pouring tea for each of them, he invited Albus to sit down next to him. "Now, Albus, what is it you would like to talk about?" Looking closer at the man, he could see he was holding a newspaper.

"Well," said Dumbledore, his mood turning somber. "There is something you need to know, Remus, and I think it would be better if you heard it from me rather than from anyone else." Smoothing out the newspaper he was holding, he held it up so that Remus could see the headline.

As the werewolf stared at the words, all the blood drained from his face. His mind started to race a mile a minute, and his hands went clammy. His mind was suddenly flooded with an influx of memories, so fast that he almost choked.

For screaming out at him was a picture of a man, but he looked so different from the man he had known. The picture showed him with a manic, insane grin on his face, and laughter was shaking his entire body. Just looking at the picture made him feel nauseated, but it was the words under it that totally did him in:

SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES AZKABAN!

"B-but that's impossible," Remus croaked, gazing at the headline and not being able to take his eyes away from it. "There must be some kind of mistake. No one escapes that place, no one!"

"It is no mistake, Remus." Dumbledore's voice and face were extremely serious. "Sirius Black has escaped. It happened late last night."

"Wh-what will happen to him if he's caught?" asked Remus shakily.

"He will return to Azkaban," Dumbledore said, "though the Ministry may sentence him to the Dementor's Kiss."

"Oh Gods." Remus put his head in his hands. Even after everything Sirius had allegedly done ... did his ex-best friend deserve to have his soul sucked out? This question was a hard one, for he remembered all too well the fury and grief he had felt on November 1, 1981, after he'd found out everything that had happened.

"Is that all, sir?" Remus asked, voice still shaking a little. "There's something else, isn't there?"

"Ah, you are a very smart young man, Remus Lupin," Dumbledore said quietly. "First, I must express to you how sorry I am that I have to bear such news to you. But I must also tell you that now that you know, it will be a great relief to me if you could do me a huge favor."

"A favor?" asked Remus, his stomach tying up in knots. He had a feeling that what Dumbledore was going to ask of him would not be easy.

"As you know, I am still Headmaster of Hogwarts," Dumbledore went on. "And as you also know, Harry Potter is a student there now. He is beginning his third year in September."

Another flood of memories engulfed Remus as he remembered cute little Harry, so young and innocent. Pain encompassed his heart as he remembered the boy's parents as well.

"Sir, what do you want me to do?" he whispered.

"There is a slot open at Hogwarts this year," Dumbledore answered. "For Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Do you see where I am going with this, Remus?"

Shock coursed through Remus like nothing he'd ever felt before as he gazed fixedly at the Headmaster. "You can't be serious," he croaked.

"And whyever not, my boy?" Dumbledore asked lightly.

"You know of my condition, sir! I could be a danger to all the students and staff!" Remus gasped.

"Remus, surely you have heard of the Wolfsbane Potion that was so recently invented?" asked Dumbledore.

"But ... but ..." Remus spluttered.

"Severus Snape, our Potions Master, has volunteered to make it for you," said Dumbledore, beaming. "Your lycanthropy will not be a problem. He is still sworn to secrecy."

"Impossible," Remus muttered, remembering how vengeful and vindictive Severus was. How could that man possibly be teaching at Hogwarts, tons of children under his care? They must all hate him! And Dumbledore would practically have had to beg the man to make the potion for Remus, a werewolf which he despised with all his might!

Dumbledore watched the range of emotions play across Remus's face and said, "I assure you, it is not impossible. Please consider my offer, Remus, for Harry will need your protection this year desperately. With Sirius on the loose, he is in terrible, terrible danger."

Remus's heart was racing. How could Dumbledore make him do this, protect his best friend's son against a man who had once been another best friend to him? This would be one of the hardest things he had ever been asked to do! But then, he reprimanded himself sharply for thinking anything negative about the old Headmaster. After all, Dumbledore had made it possible for Remus to go to Hogwarts at all. How could he deny him anything?

"You don't need to give me an answer now," Dumbledore said gently. "I have been here long enough for now. I will leave you, but I would appreciate it if you would send me an owl within the next week."

"Yes, sir," Remus said, feeling like a student again. Dumbledore smiled at him, and with that, he took a pinch of Floo powder, shouted Hogwarts!" and disappeared out of sight.

xxx

Remus had seemed to go numb for the next few minutes. But when he developed awareness again, he realized his feet and Apparition senses had taken him on autopilot, and now he happened to be standing in ...

More memories surged through him as he realized he was standing in Godric's Hollow cemetery. He didn't remember the journey, but knew he had taken it, for how could he be here otherwise?

He walked past many graves until he got to the ones his heart wanted to go to. James and Lily Potter lay six feet below him, and had been doing so for nearly twelve years.

Remus conjured some flowers and laid them on the grave, feeling a breeze ruffle his graying hair. He sat down on the ground near their headstone, and let feelings and thoughts he hadn't dared to remember for twelve years sweep through him. Suddenly, he began to speak, needing to get the words out that were lodged deep within his soul.

"My old friends," he said, looking sadly at the mound of Earth which housed two of the dearest and greatest people he had ever known. "You may already know this, but Professor Dumbledore - you know, I still can't call him Albus, even after all this time - came by today. He offered me the job at Hogwarts. Harry's going into his third year, and ... and ..." He felt a lump rise in his throat. "Sirius's out," he whispered. "Somehow, Sirius escaped Azkaban. What am I supposed to do?"

He thought of the castle, with its turrets and towers, of four young boys who walked down the halls, faces flushed with laughter, four boys who had promised and vowed to be blood brothers, to be friends forever, to never betray each other. He knew that if he returned to the castle, he wouldn't be able to escape the memories.

But this is the right thing to do, another part of his mind told him. And Harry ... he's so innocent. He needs protecting, if Sirius is out to finish what he started.

"How can it have come to this, James, Lil?" he said softly, feeling a few tears escape the boundaries of his eyes. "How can everything have gone so wrong? Please help me, what am I supposed to do? Can I protect Harry? Do I have the right to?"

Another gentle breeze ruffled his hair, and through his feelings of fear and uncertainty, a firm resolve began to bloom in Remus. He wasn't sure how he knew, but somehow, he thought he could hear James and Lily's voices.

"Do what you think is right, Rem," James's spirit said, while Lily nodded her head in agreement.

"You're a good person, Remus," the beautiful red-haired woman said. "I know you can do what your heart feels is right."

He also thought of little Peter, little Peter who had finally received what he'd always wanted: his status as a hero. Order of Merlin, First Class, and a finger were all that his poor mother had left. What would Peter say? He remembered the young boy who was afraid of his own shadow, the boy who had turned into the man who had stood against a madman and fought valiantly for what was right.

Well, that settles it, thought Remus. James and Lily want me to do this, and Peter did everything to fight for what he believed in. That means I can fight too, fight for love, fight for Harry's safety, fight for Harry's life.

"Thank you, my old friends. I will do whatever it takes to keep your son safe, I promise," Remus vowed, looking once again at the headstones of his adopted brother and sister. He knew that once he got home, he would send an owl to Dumbledore, accepting his offer.

As he walked away from Lily and James's graves and prepared to Apparate, memories continued to swarm through him, but they were now of all the good times he and the other Marauders had had. He knew that this year, he would be haunted, but he also knew it would be a wonderful chance to get reacquainted with everything, and to think back on the friendship that had been the best thing in his entire life.

And his last thought before he arrived at his London flat caused a gentle smile to appear on his face.

I hope Harry doesn't cause as much mischief as we did. Thank you, my friends, thank you for giving me the best years a werewolf could ever possibly have. Thank you.


End file.
